Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer Vacheron Constantin will be using blockchain technology to authenticate its timepieces.

Founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, an independent watchmaker in Switzerland, Vacheron Constantin is the oldest manufacturer of fine watches. It is a highly regarded watch manufacturer. Over the years, notable Vacheron Constantin patrons and timepieces owners include Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Pius XI, Napoléon Bonaparte, Marlon Brando, William James, John D. Rockefeller, Diana Princess of Wales, Harry S. Truman, Wright brothers, and so on.

Lifestyle magazine Robb Report reported that Vacheron Constantin will begin using blockchain to help combat counterfeiters and guarantee authenticity throughout the lifespan of its timepieces. The goal is to protect potential customers from buying fakes as well as to increase the value of its watches on the secondary market.

“Blockchain certification serves to avoid paper authentication, which can easily be forged,” the company said. “This new technology makes it possible to create a forgery-proof digital certificate of authenticity, which follows the watch throughout its life, even if that involves several changes of owner. A unique number is thus assigned to a unique object, making the two inseparable and securing data relating to the property, value, nature and authenticity of the timepiece.”

The certificate is digitally transmitted to each new owner of the watch instantaneously via an app by clicking on “change ownership.” A QR code will be generated, and the new owner will scan it on his or her phone. When the transfer is complete, Vacheron Constantin is automatically informed that the ownership has changed. The owners remain anonymous.

Vacheron Constantin believes that the new authenticity method could revolutionize the business of watch buying and collecting. If it succeeds, the use of blockchain could spread to its sister companies, including Jaeger Le Coultre, Cartier, Panerai and A. Lange & Söhne.